Maze / Labyrinth | Dream Meanings

If you dream of a labyrinth, you will find yourself entangled in intricate and perplexing business conditions, and your wife will make the home environment intolerable; children and sweethearts will prove ill-tempered and unattractive.

If you are in a labyrinth of night or darkness, it foretells passing, but agonizing sickness and trouble.

A labyrinth of green vines and timbers, denotes unexpected happiness from what was seemingly a cause for loss and despair. In a network, or labyrinth of railroads, assures you of long and tedious journeys. Interesting people will be met, but no financial success will aid you on these journeys.

1- On a purely practical level, the labyrinth appearing in dreams signifies the need to explore the hidden side of our own personality. With its many twists, turns and potential blind alleys it is a very potent representation of the human being. Within the labyrinth one meets and overcomes the difficulties in life which could impede progress.

2- Psychologically; in undertaking our own heroic journey, we must at some point go through some kind of labyrinth experience. It is undertaken at a point when we must travel into the differing areas of our subconscious and come to terms with our fears and doubts, before confronting our own Shadow (See Introduction). In dreams the labyrinth can be suggested by any dream which has us exploring a scries of underground passages. It is held by some to be an exploration of the hidden feminine.

3- Spiritually the labyrinth experience marks a watershed. It is a symbol for the transition stage between the physical and practical world and a deeper understanding of all mankind.

The route in one type of Labyrinth is ‘unicursal’ that is, it goes by a straightforward route which covers maximum ground straight to the centre and out again.

The second type is designed with the intention to confuse, and has many blind alleys and unexpected twists. This represents spiritual progress, through having to work out the key or code. Many trials and tribulations arc met and overcome or negotiated on the path to attainment. Each individual will undertake his or her own route to the centre of his existence.

Symbol: The labyrinth is a symbol of human life in general: its challenges, delays, and complications.

Vision: Looking at a labyrinth: you are in over your head! You have been sidetracked and have lost perspective. Stumbling around in a labyrinth: you are looking for the security of your childhood; you would do better to search for an exit from your current behavior.

Depth Psychology: In the search for self-knowledge, you have met the chaos inside you (maybe in your unconscious?). It confuses and frightens you. Look for the exit!

Spiritually the labyrinth experience marks a watershed. It is a symbol for the transition stage between the physical, practical world and a deeper understanding of all mankind.

The route in one type of labyrinth is ‘unicursal’ – that is, it goes by a straightforward route, which covers maximum ground straight to the centre and out again.

The second type is designed with the intention to confuse, and has many blind alleys and unexpected twists. This can represent spiritual progress in dreams, through having to work out the key or code. Many trials and tribulations are met and overcome or negotiated on the path to attainment and the labyrinth may be a recurring image. Each individual will undertake his or her own route to the centre of his existence.

Psychological / emotional perspective: Psychologically, in undertaking our own life journey, we must at some point go through a form of labyrinth experience. It is undertaken at a point when we must travel into the differing areas of our subconscious and come to terms with our fears and doubts, before confronting our own shadow.

Material aspects: On a purely practical level, the labyrinth appearing in dreams signifies the need to explore the hidden side of our own personality. With its many twists, turns and potential blind alleys when it is not unicursal, it is a very potent representation of the human being.

Gives gender - specific: In dreams the labyrinth can be suggested by any dream that has us exploring a series of underground passages. It is held by some to be an exploration of the hidden feminine, whether in the sense of sophia (eternal wisdom) or the anima in men. Also consult the entries for maze and minotaur.

Dreams of Lamaze symbolize that you are breathing your way through the birth of a new project or creation; finding grace as you move through the final pushes of this process. Perhaps it is time to give your self a break and take a breather. See Breath and Air.

If in your dream you are trapped in a maze and are having difficulty getting to the end, then you need to stop and consider your current emotional and psychological status. I don’t mean to suggest anything is terribly wrong. Simply speaking, are you often confused and unsure of which way to go? If you are facing many hard decisions this dream is a good indicator that you need to step back and look at the entire picture. Edgar Cayce said that being in a maze in a dream may be symbolic of an “emotionally disorganized” person. At times we are all emotionally disorganized and confused, but admitting this dream’s message is step in the right direction.

Confusion of ideas and feelings; conflicting urges and opinions; the difficulty in finding our way through the mass of apparently irrational emotions and images arising from within. Sometimes we need to admit we are lost and need help. Occasionally the circuitous and often confusing route we take to meeting self; the unconscious.

From a mythological point of view, the image of the maze is closely tied to the Greek hero Theseus and to Ariadne, who loves him. As legend has it, in order to slay the virgin-devouring monster in the center of the maze of Crete, Ariadne gives to Theseus a magical red thread that will help him find his way out of the maze after he has slain the monster.

The maze symbolizes the womb of the Earth Mother and the cosmic order, which each of us has to create within ourself. And that is your task! The path is like a maze; after many twists and turns you finally reach your goal, where you can fulfill your obligations and responsibilities, find your shadow, and come to terms with it. Every time you dream about a maze you are challenged to come to terms with the monster within yourself.

On the other hand, the image of the maze points to a mother complex: if you cannot let go of the feminine, you are lost in it, which means the masculine in you loses its identity. And if this masculine identity is devoured by the feminine, the feminine cannot find its own identity because it doesn’t have access to it, and you cannot find your way out of the maze.

The symbol of the maze probably goes back to observations made about how the sun or the moon is traveling across the sky. In the center of the maze resides death, where the sun and the moon are at their lowest point. After we have met death, we leave the maze in the same way as Theseus. Our modern world, the metropolitan big city, the asphalt jungle, where people are easily getting lost and feeling trapped, is often compared with the maze. What is addressed here is the idea that our lives have become so complex that it is difficult for us to find our way. See Food (stored), Thread, Dragon.

1- A maze often represents a confusion of ideas and feelings. There are conflicting urges and opinions and we often discover that in attempting to find our way through the maze we have learnt something about our own courage, our own ability to meet problems. Often there is the apparently irrational fear and doubt that arises from not being able to find our wav in and out of the maze.

This can allow us to release feelings of self-doubt and fear.

2- Psychologically; the maze may- represent the variety of opinions and authoritative beliefs that we come up against in our ordinary, everyday world. We may be trying to find our own way through this mass of detail and we picture it in a dream as actually trying to find our way through a maze.

3- The path to the Divine.

The feminine.

The way to the feminine is a strange route, and all the roads that lead there are winding, but the end result has worthy consequences.

To dream that you are in a maze implies that you should face a challenge directly. It isn’t as difficult as you think. In addition, this dream may represent the various changes in direction that you experience in your life.

Dreams of a maze symbolize a course of initiation, and that you are testing your ability to put your problem solving abilities to the test. This dream may also be telling you that it is time to exit from a career, relationship, or habit pattern that is getting you nowhere. Consider the feeling tone.

Psychological / emotional perspective: Psychologically, the maze may represent the variety of opinions and authoritative beliefs that we come up against in our ordinary, everyday world. We may be trying to find our own way through this mass of detail and we picture this in a dream as actually trying to find our way through a maze.

Material aspects: A maze often represents a confusion of ideas and feelings. There are conflicting urges and opinions and we often discover that, in attempting to find our way through the maze, we have learnt something about our own courage, our own ability to meet problems. Often there is the apparently irrational fear and doubt that arises from not being able to find our way in and out of the maze. This can allow us to release feelings of self-doubt and fear.

A portent of uncertain times ahead, when you literally won’t know if you’re coming or going.

If the dreamer found his or her way out and wasn’t particularly concerned about it, then whatever problems you face will be set right and you can get on with your life. But if the dreamer was frightened, panicked, and kept running into dead ends, then the dream is telling him or her that it’s vital to calm down, try to relax, and face whatever appears to be stopping him from doing what he wants.